The New Recruit (Liam Scott #1)
Author: Andy McNab
Genre: Military Fiction
Released: 2012
Rating:
After a prank goes catastrophically wrong and kills his best friend, troubled teenager Liam Scott enlists in the British Army to escape his guilt and his past. Basic training is brutal, but deployment to Afghanistan may be even harder. A gritty, fast-paced young adult novel from SAS veteran Andy McNab that doesn't shy away from the reality of military life.
Regular readers may know that I'm a British Army veteran who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, so when my wife mentioned this book and that it might be good to read to our oldest son, I thought I'd give it a go.
The book is aimed at young teenagers. My oldest isn't quite a teenager, but he's not far off. So I decided to read it to him, but simmered down some of the more fruity language and difficult situations as we went.
Overall it's a pretty good read. A little extravagant and not the best writing I've ever read, but the story is good and my son couldn't wait to finish it with me.
I've read a lot of Andy McNab's stuff over the years, starting with Bravo Two Zero and this is typical of McNab's writing. Personally I prefer Chris Ryan to McNab, but my son enjoyed it.
This book has a lot of harsh language and talks about very difficult topics, such as people being shot, maimed, and killed.
Since reading this book to my son, he's started asking some questions around my time in the military, which I think has been good for our relationship. I've obviously left some of the details out though.
This is the first book in a trilogy, and my son wants to continue so we are.
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